Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning/afternoon. That’s the lines that I want to give you my dear Bicolanos here in this momentous event.

We Bicolanos are the reason for the existence of our beloved Bicolandia….sounds interesting right? But a question may arise. Did we have our own identity as Bicolanos?

Mount Mayon of Albay, Sinarapan of Buhi, White beaches of Caramoan, Summer Swing of Pasacao, Whale Shark of Donsol, Rodeo of Masbate,beauty queens like Venus Raj of Bato, Camarines Sur and Miriam Quimbao of Bacacay, Albay, our beloved Superstar Nora Aunor, a native of Iriga City, these we can say “Wonders of Bicolandia”

Rapid change has become a normal part of our everyday lives as Bicolanos. Every now and then, many changes result from advances in technology all over the Bicol Region. Thus, it is important for us young people to be familiar with all of the developments in various fields such as in rice farming, abaca weaving, medicine and education.

Have you ever been called as “oragon”? Bicolanos are famous for being brave, courageous and open minded. We are like sponge because we can easily absorb, preserve and transmit our values, beliefs, rituals and traditions. But are we strong enough to maintain our identity?

Solidus est Onus. Strong means responsibility. We, Bicolanos are not just good leaders but good subordinates. Even during the time our ancestors, we are known for our qualities. As what Milton Garland stated “When you go into something and stay with it until you like it, you can’t like it until you obtain expertise in that work” And once you are an expert, it’s a pleasure, but before getting onto it, we should ask ourselves first,and I should ask myself too..Am I really proud to be Bicolano? Precisely! Absolutely! Yes!

Et Quasi Catulus Bicolano, as a young Bicolano, it’s better to fulfill our accustomed occupation than just sitting in a corner and doing nothing. Have you think of what BICOL really means? B stands for Brave. We should express our affection, enthusiasm and love for our region. We are to first embrace the real essence of Bicolandia. I implies Idealist. A real Bicolano is not just contented with the opinion of others, thus he/she creates his/her point of view. C is for Courage. We should be impressive, influential to be able to accomplish our goals. With this, courage will flourish. O stands for Optimism, as a young men and women, we always look in the bright side of things, thus, we always bear in our mind that failure is an essential part of our lives. L stands for Love. We must show concern, comfort, care, be passionate and be updated to innovations on how we can gain more treasures just for the sake of our regions development and progress. And whenever problems arise, possible solution will be offered immediately. This only connotes the significance of those strong qualities that signifies a true Bicolano. Bicolano is a fighter, wise decision maker. Truly, Fortis Bicolano nunc et semper. Bicolano is strong and will always be strong now and forever.

Viva Filipino! Viva Bicolandia!

Salamat po asin Dios mabalos sa satuya gabos!